The Doors - Soft Parade - how to tell if your remaster is correct

As has been mentioned a few times elsewhere on this Forum, some copies of The Doors Soft Parade remaster actually contain the old mastering despite the new packaging, including the Red Elektra CD design. I know this because I bought one of these incorrect CD's brand new last year. I just recently bought the correct mastering and the differences are night and day, as would be expected.

Unfortunately, you are not going to know which one you have until you actually play the CD. There are at least three ways of identifying which CD version you have. It helps if you have the old 80's CD as a reference, but it's not absolutely necessary.

First, the correct remaster is HDCD encoded, so you so should see your HDCD indicator light up or do whatever your indicator does. The incorrect CD is not HDCD enocded.

But what if your player does not have HDCD? Well, I just realized that there are two different timings for the CD's. My old 80's CD and the incorrect 'remaster' both clock in at 33:53. The CD with the correct mastering is 33:56. I realize not all CD players give the same exact time readings, some add or subtract a second or two, but hopefully this will help some people identify the correct CD, especially if you have the old one.

Of course, the most obvious way to identify the CD is by using your ears. The old remaster is relatively quiet in volume, like most 80's CD's. The correct remaster is much louder, similar to the other Doors remasters. I confess I haven't yet listened too critcally to the correct remaster, so I can't offer much more than volume differences right now.

I do not think this problem is too widespread, but I've seen it mentioned on the Forum by a few different people so I thought it deserves its own thread.

see also:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=43891

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=45528

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=53256

 

Geez, why couldn't WEA have used the DCC master by mistake?

Thanks for the info. I will have to check my copy. It's been quite awhile since I listened to it.

 

I'm still pissed about this. I've had two copies of the boxset and both The Soft Parade and Waiting for the Sun were the old masterings. I want to replace those two titles, but I worried that I'll buy the single titles and get the old mastering again. I realize I could return them like I did with the boxset, but it's a bit of a hassle as I do most of my buying online.

 

I know BMG Music Club has the correct version of Soft Parade. I ordered mine from them last month, as did another Forum member. Don't know about Waiting for The Sun. Did your incorrect Waiting for The Sun disc also have the Red Elektra label design? I never bought a remaster for this title since I have the DCC.

 

I have the cube style box. Did any of these contain the incorrect remasters?

 

edit - I didn't know there were two different boxes. Must have missed that fact.

 

I ordered the Long Style Boxset from YourMusic and got all the correct remasters.

 

So can one use the Elektra logo as a tipoff even before listening? If that were the case, I would buy a copy and open it in the store to see if I got the right version.

Alternatively, can one differentiate between the two masterings from the matrix code?

 

Thanks for starting this thread. I've found it very informative.
I've been lucky to buy the right remasters, though I didn't know at first that European versions still use the old labels not the colored ones so its hard to tell if the disc is a remaster or not just by looking at it.

 

No - you can't use the Elektra logo. That's the problem, the incorrect mastering also has the Red Elektra label design, as does the correct mastering. You won't know what you have unless you actually put in a CD player.

edit - I didn't check the matrix codes - I'll compare those when I get home.

 

"I do not think this problem is too widespread!"


No HDCD to know- My fav. Doors album 33:52 in Technics-CD player & TDK-CDR
- 33:46 in Pioneer DVD player-
- the disc is transfered at a fairly loud level.
(Made in Canada) CD 75005
-purchased last year. Sound is OK

 

Im not sure if the single disc of 'Waiting for the Sun' has the incorrect remaster, but my box sure had it. I'd say for Soft Parade it is VERY common that you get the wrong version even if you bough the single CD. I went through 3 copies of Soft Parade before I got the correct HDCD remaster.

 

I bought the "cube" box when it was released, and all CDs were the correct master. I bought the "long" box (don't ask me why), and "The Soft Parade" was the old version. Comparing the good "Parade" side-by-side with the bad "Parade" yielded no obvious visual cue. The only way was to compare the timing and to check for HDCD.

Jamie

 

Is Elektra aware of these issues?? This seems like a massive QA snafu at Elektra and at the very least they should be offering trade ins for the correct disc.

Anyone have contact information for Customer Service at Elektra?

 

Why couldn't DCC have just released "The Soft Parade" as a last hurrah? Would have been a great way to go out. Although I know there were many things preventing them from doing so.

 

Checked my Cube Doors set after reading this thread and it's the correct one timing in at 33:56. Glad about that because unlike quite a few other people(apparently from past threads) I really like The Soft Parade.

 

I will check mine when I get home tonight. I am hoping mine is ok as I purchased the cube soon after it was released.

 

My Brother just found out that his Soft Parade is NOT the HDCD version!

Does anyone here have a confirmed HDCD Soft Parade that they want to get rid of? He'd pay going market value for it.

Please PM me if you have one!! Thanks

 

If you are running Windows XP. play the disc with Windows Media Player - the HDCD indicator will light up if it is HDCD encoded.

 

Good news... maybe. There are visual differences in the label design and the matrix numbers between my incorrect and my correct discs. However, my correct disc is a BMG Music disc so it may not be a good reference point. I don't have time right now to list all the details so I'll post them tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, can someone who has a non-BMG Music correct mastered Soft Parade post their inner ring matrix details?

 

I just checked my copies of The Soft Parade and Waiting For The Sun, and I have correct copies. The Soft Parade has the red label side and Waiting For The Sun has the olive label side, and both have the large Elektra 'E' logo. The Soft Parade clocks in at 33:56, and the HDCD indicator on my Harman/Kardon CDR 30 lights up when I play both discs. Whew!

Now I need to check the "cube".

 

Can you post the inner ring matrix codes? I'm wondering how they compare to my incorrect store bought version and my correct BMG Music version. I'll post mine soon.

 

Ok here we go...

Inner ring matrix codes – “bad” version: 2 62434-2.4 02 M1S2 Z17848

Inner ring matrix codes – BMG Music with new mastering – 9D100212-2 01 M0S1 Y21039

There are some other visual differences as well:

While both discs show the Red Elektra label, when I look at the two side by side, the BMG version is a darker shade of Red. The version with the old mastering almost looks red-orange by comparison. Also, the black type is slightly darker on the BMG and it is a different font, smaller than the other version. Other than that, the labels are laid out exactly the same. I’d like to scan the discs in so you can these but I haven’t been able to learn how to use our scanner yet.

Here’s a good one - When I look at the bottoms of the discs, the inner ring is red on the one with the old mastering and white on the version with the new mastering.

Again, since my “good” version is made by BMG Music Club, these differences may not help you if you’re looking at a non-BMG version. That’s why I hope someone with a good non-BMG version will post their matrix codes.

 

Ok, here's my attempt at uploading the scanned discs. Not too good, I'm afraid. It's the first time I used the scanner and it's 5:00 in the morning

The one on top is the "bad" version, with the old mastering. The bottom one is the BMG version with the new mastering.

 

Mike, I was going to post the matrix info. earlier, but I was getting tired.

Here is the matrix information for my correct copies of The Soft Parade and Waiting For The Sun:

The Soft Parade
X9901 2 62434-2.4 01 M1S2 (It also says "wea mfg. OLYPHANT".)

Waiting For The Sun
Y9707 2 62434-2.3 01 M1S3 (It also says "wea mfg. OLYPHANT".)

The Soft Parade has a bright red label side with an aluminum ring around the perimeter. Waiting For The Sun has an olive label side with an aluminum ring around the perimeter.

These copies are not from a box set. I bought them as individual discs from some store. It's interesting that neither disc has the actual catalog number on the label side of the disc or within the matrix code. Is 62434 the catalog number for the cube set? I'll have to check my copy.


EDIT: I just checked my cube set, and 62434 is part of the catalog number.